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Compared by a British newspaper to the All England Club, home of Wimbledon, the arena was designed by the company Populous and will have a central hard court under a retractable roof. The complex is part of Saudi Arabia’s investment in tennis, which is expected to host a Masters 1000 from 2028 onwards.
Saudi Arabia plans to build a modern tennis arena for 33,000 people in the desert, with a retractable roof, climate control, and grass-like flooring, in a project that, according to the British portal Daily Mail, resembles the All England Club, home of the Wimbledon tournament. Due to this similarity, the complex has been referred to as a kind of desert Wimbledon.
According to the Daily Mail, the architectural project was designed by the company Populous, and the central court will have a retractable roof for climate control due to the high temperatures during the day. According to information from the NSC Total portal, the arena, in purple and green colors, will have a central hard court, covered, uncovered, and training courts, as well as two clay courts, with a capacity for 33,000 people, and is part of the Saudi government’s approach to tennis, which is expected to host a Masters 1000 tournament from 2028 onwards.
The project of the desert tennis arena
Saudi Arabia plans to build a modern arena with a tennis court with climate control for games and also training, and what stands out the most is that the location presents similarities with the All England Club, which hosts the Wimbledon tournament.
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For this reason, the project has been referred to as a kind of desert Wimbledon.
According to the British portal Daily Mail, the architectural project was designed by the company Populous, specialized in sports arenas.
The arena is one of the pieces of the sports complex that Saudi Arabia is building, in a bet that combines architecture, technology, and the ambition to enter the international tennis calendar.
Retractable Roof and Climate Control Against the Heat
The central tennis court will have a retractable roof for climate control, according to the Daily Mail, due to the high temperatures during the day in Saudi Arabia.
In a region where heat is one of the main obstacles to outdoor sports, the roof was designed to allow games and training at any time of the day.
This climate control solution is one of the features that bring the project closer to large modern arenas, where technology allows controlling the internal environment regardless of the external climate.
In the desert, this control becomes even more decisive, and it is one of the points that Saudi Arabia highlights in the presentation of the arena.
Grass-Like Coating and Clay Courts
In addition to the purple and green colors, the arena will be coated with a material similar to grass, as well as several other structures and exhibition courts, according to the project in Saudi Arabia.
The central court, however, will be hard surface, not grass, despite the lawn-like appearance.
The venue will have a capacity of 33,000 people, who can be distributed among covered, uncovered, and training courts, as well as two clay courts.
This variety of surfaces shows that the Saudi Arabia project aims to cater to different modalities and moments of the sport, from major games to everyday training.
Saudi Arabia’s Bet on Tennis and the Masters 1000
According to Abdullah Aldawood, managing director of Qiddiya Investment Company, the goal is to build a center of excellence for tennis where the best players in the world can compete and the next generation of Saudi talent can reach their potential.
The arena, therefore, is presented as part of a long-term plan for the sport in Saudi Arabia.
“We are building a world-class center of excellence for tennis at all levels,” said Abdullah Aldawood, managing director of Qiddiya Investment Company.
According to the Daily Mail, the initiative is part of the Saudi government’s approach to tennis, a movement that has grown in recent years.
Saudi Arabia is set to host a Masters 1000 tournament starting in 2028, one of the most important categories in the professional circuit, which reinforces the country’s ambition to establish itself on the international sports scene.
Saudi Arabia is designing a modern tennis arena for 33,000 people in the desert, with a retractable roof, climate control, grass-like coating, and two clay courts, in a project designed by the company Populous which, according to the British portal Daily Mail, resembles the All England Club, home of Wimbledon.
The central court, however, will have a hard surface, and the complex is part of the growing investment by the Saudi government in tennis, which is set to host a Masters 1000 tournament starting in 2028.
With climate control to withstand the desert heat and the ambition, in Qiddiya’s words, to build a center of excellence for the sport, Saudi Arabia’s arena combines architecture, technology, and the strategy to enter the international tennis calendar.
And you, what do you think of the desert Wimbledon that Saudi Arabia is planning? Do you believe the climate-controlled arena will attract the biggest stars in world tennis starting in 2028? Share your opinion and exchange ideas with other readers about sports and megaprojects.
